The UpTake: There's an emerging industrial ecosystem that is already growing up around Tesla in the Bay Area and nearby. That growth is getting the attention of real estate developers, city planners and educational institutions.

Tesla is gobbling up available real estate— Donato-Weinstein reports that in the last few months, Tesla and its suppliers have secured at least 780,000 square feet of industrial space in the region. And there's more need coming: Tesla's suppliers will need up to 1 million more square feet while Tesla itself, which has a 350,000-square-foot headquarters in Palo Alto, across the San Francisco Bay from its manufacturing plant in Fremont, will need up to 300,000 more square feet of office space.

Startups are rushing in to service Tesla— One example is Futuris Automotive, an Australian maker of seats and auto interiors, that is refurbishing a 160,000-square-foot former Staples distribution center in Newark that will serve as its North American headquarters.

Tesla is creating the need for schools to train manufacturing workers— For example, the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District will break ground on an 11,000-square-foot, $12 million auto-tech building with an electric and hybrid focus. “Automotive is very sexy right now because it includes this technology, creativity, design,” said Lena Tran, the dean of workforce development.

And it adds up to this: “This is a unique company, and it’s headed by a unique individual who comes out of the high-tech world,” said Boyd">John Boyd of national site-selection firm the Boyd Co. “So having a critical mass of manufacturing and head office and research in and around the Bay Area is essential.”

Since coming aboard with Upstart’s parent company, Kent has covered sustainability and business, entrepreneurs, technology, and venture capital. Now, he covers all the ways upstart businesses get their money.

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